Thankas are sacred
scroll pictures depicting Buddhist deities, mandalas, saints, and revered lamas
which are used by the Tibetan nomads.They
can be rolled up and be easily carried on their migrations. From there Thankas
became a fixture in all Tibetan shrines and monasteries. Lavishly framed in
colorful silk brocade frames every gompa and every private meditation chapel owns
a number of these scrolls.

Their history
goes back to the Buddhist temples in Nepal and Serindia where silken prayer
flags of the 4th century were found. Tibetan thankas from the 13th century
(second dissemination of Buddhism in Tibet) have survived, often in poor
condition. Painted on cotton canvas they are fragile objects. Several Western
museums and private collectors own large numbers of these scroll pictures.

The texts (by Jeff Watt) and images of this collection were copied
from the website of the

for the interest, education and pleasure
of my friends. Among the items are 3
thankas in my possession.

The American
Art Association exhibits hundreds of thankas and Tibetan sculptures on their
website, a treasure trove for anyone interested in this subject.I have selected some fifty examples and
arranged them strictly by their esthetic value. The quality of the digital
images is intentionally low, they are not suitable for printing. For high-resolution
reproductions search the HAR website.

The Wheel of Life

An especially
clear example of a more complex than usual Wheel of Life.

Held in the
tight grasp of Samsara personified (cyclic existence) seen as a fierce wrathful
figure, red in colour, with one face and two hands, the circular disc is
pressed up against the mouth ready to be swallowed at any moment - the
immediacy of impermanence. This wrathful figure is sometimes referred to as
Yama, the Lord of Death, and at other times as the red female daemon of death,
possibly Yami, the sister of Yama.

First: The
inner most of the 4 concentric circles shows a black pig (ignorance), green
snake (anger) and a rooster (desire) circling on a blue background. They are
often shown biting on each others tail.

Second: The
next circle, made of a white half and a black half, shows those individuals
that have performed meritorious actions (good karma) moving upwards in the
circle of existence and those having performed bad actions moving downward,
naked, led by red and green attendants of the Lord of Death.

Third: The
widest of the circles is that of the six realms of existence; gods, asuras
(anti-gods), humans, animals, ghosts (preta) and hell. Each segregated by a red
dividing line. At the top is the Realm of the Gods highlighted by a heavenly
being in a palace playing a stringed instrument. To the right is the Asura
Realm, a lower form of the gods always engaged in conflict. To the left is the
Human Realm and below that is the Animal Realm. To the lower right is the Realm
of Pretas. At the bottom is the Hell Realm with a central blue figure,
wrathful, holding a stick in the right hand and a mirror in the left. This is
Yama Dharmaraja, the Lord of the Dead, King of Judgement (the Law of Karma). He
holds a mirror to reflect those actions (and consequences) performed by each
individual that comes before him. In each realm the various beings are
portrayed engaged in their respective activities along with the occasional
buddha or bodhisattva.

Fourth: The
outer circle is composed of 12 scenes which represent the Twelve links of
Dependant Arising starting at the bottom left with three blind figures (#1
ignorance) and then moving clockwise around the Wheel of Existence to meet
again at the bottom right where two figures carry bundled corpses to the
funeral pyre (#12 old age and death).

Yama the Lord
of Death, although portrayed in the Hell Realms, actually resides in the Realm
of Ghosts and is the King of the Pretas. He lives in the city of Pretas,
Kapila, 500 miles below the classical north Indian city of Rajgir and is
accompanied by 36 attendants. His association with the Hell Realms is in the
capacity of a judge of karma, good and bad deeds.

This model of
Buddhist cosmology, the environment and inhabitants, is based on the Abhidharma
literature of the Theravada and Sutrayana vehicles. Within the Vajrayana system
various divergent models are presented with the foremost being that of the
Kalachakra Tantra.

Within the
center of the two-dimensional circular diagram representing the top view of a
three-dimensional celestial palace are five smaller square mandalas each
containing a form of Shri Hevajra with 9 deities. In the central square is
Akshobhya-Hevajra, blue in colour, with eight faces, sixteen hands holding
skullcups and four legs in a dancing posture. The first pair of hands embrace
the consort Vajra Nairatmya (Selfless One), dark blue, with one face and two
hands holding a curved knife and skullcup. They stand atop four corpses within
the flames of pristine awareness surrounded by eight goddesses of various
colours in a dancing posture. Beginning from the top and moving in a clockwise
direction is Vetali, Dombini, Ghashmari, Pukkashi, Gauri, Shavari, Chauri, and
Chandali. They all hold their own distinct hand objects.

Surrounding
the Akshobhya Hevajra mandala, in the square above, is the deity
Amitabha-Hevajra, red in colour, embracing the consort red Pandara Vasini. In
the square to the right is Amoghasiddhi-Hevajra, green in colour, embracing
light green Samaya Tara. In the square below is Vairochana-Hevajra, white in
colour, embracing pink Vajradhatvishvari. In the square to the left is
Ratnasambhava-Hevajra, yellow in colour, embracing orange Buddha Locani.
Surrounded by their own unique circle of variously coloured eight goddesses
each set of figures is otherwise identical in appearance to the central
Hevajra.

The floor of
the celestial palace is divided into four colours: red, green, white and
yellow. Four empowerment vases adorn the four squares of the intermediate
directions. The outer red, blue and white lines forming a square enclosure
represent the red veranda outside of the palace walls and the stylized decorative
facade on the four sides of the palace roof; adorned with upright spears,
arrows and banners. The elaborate lintels above each of the four doors are
constructed of four tiered steps, red, blue, green, and yellow, topped with a
Dharma wheel and two reclining deer with a silk canopy above. The palace is
placed squarely on a horizontal multi-coloured double vajra with only the
prongs and makara heads (an Indian mythological sea creature) appearing on the
four sides. Surrounding that is a circle of multi-coloured (rectangular) lotus
petals representing the enormous lotus upon which the entire palace structure
rests.

The outer
circle containing eight sets of various figures is the ring of the eight great
charnel grounds: Gruesome, Frightful with Skulls, Adorned with a Blazing
Garland, Dense Jungle, Fiercely Resounding, Forest of the Lord, Dark and
Terrible and Resounding with the Cries Kili Kili. They are filled with corpses,
fires, chaityas, yogis, nagas, wild animals and wrathful worldly deities. The final
ring is composed of the multi-coloured fires of pristine awareness completely
enveloping the entire Hevajra Pancadaka Mandala.

Along the top
are the lineage gurus. Along the bottom are 9 goddesses of various colours in a
dancing posture.

Shri Hevajra
Panchadaka is a tutelary deity of the Anuttarayoga non-dual classification.
From the many Hevajra Tantras this representation arises from the Vajra Panjara
Tantra and was used in Tibet by the Sakyapa and Ngor Lotsawa Lineages.

The style of
the painting is Nepali, evidenced by rigid geometric form, the use of bright
red and blue colours and the intricate floral patterns used in the background
design and flame patterns.

Sakya Pandita, Kunga Gyaltsen Pal
Zangpo (1182-1251), the sixth throne holder of Sakya, debating with the Indian
Tirtika Harinanda. Painted from a famous set of blockprints portraying the
lives of the Panchen Lamas.

In a vigorous
posture of debate, wearing a red pandita hat and attired in the patched robes
of a fully ordained monk, Sakya Pandita performs the debating gestures of snapping
the fingers of the right hand prior to clapping with the left. The right leg
drawn up and the left pendant, supported by a step, he sits atop a yellow
cushion seat with an elaborate backrest adorned with dragon heads; draped in
ornate brocades. To the right a flowering bush with alternating white and red
blossoms forms a symbolic staircase to the guru above. In front to the lower
right sits the naked Indian Harinanda, brown, with long twisted hair, seated on
an antelope skin, attended by a servant with a white turban.

To the left
and back of Sakya Pandita, against a green lush and varied landscape, unfolds a
temple scene before a standing image with worshippers offering wicks of flaming
butter in golden lamps.

At the top
left is the patron deity of Sakya Pandita, the bodhisattva Manjushri,
Stirachakra, with one face and two hands holding a wisdom sword and lotus
supporting a Prajnaparamita book; seated within a glowing nimbus sphere of
emanated light. At the right is the root guru and uncle, Jetsun Dragpa Gyaltsen
(1147-1216), holding a vajra extended in the right hand and a bell turned up at
the waist in the left. Attired in the variously coloured garments of a layman,
seated on an ornate cushion with a backrest, he resides above gently spreading
clouds.

At the bottom
left is the protector of the Guhyasamaja Tantra, Chaturmukha Mahakala (the Four
Faced Black Lord), wrathful visage of Brahmarupa Mahakala, with four hands and
charnel ground vestments of skins and bones, he stands upon a corpse seat
amidst the swirling flames of pristine awareness.

Inscription
along the bottom front: "With the compassion of the great Jetsun Dragpa
Gyaltsen and the tutelary deity Stirachakra, Sakya Pandita defeated the
Tirtikas with the assistance of the wrathful Four-faced One."

Historical
Background: After the Sanskrit publication of Sakya Pandita's definitive
treatises on Buddhist logic, the Tse ma rig pi ter, his fame spread
throughout eastern, western and central India. Wishing to debate with Sapan,
six Indian Tirtika pandits with Harinanda at the lead traveled to Kyirong in
Western Tibet (circa 1232). After 13 days, unable to win in philosophical
debate, Harinanda said, "it is not you I cannot defeat, it is the orange
being sitting above your right shoulder." Then, challenging Sapan to a
test of miraculous powers he flew into the air. With one clap of the hands by
Sapan - Harinanda fell to the ground. Accepting defeat the six Tirtakas took
refuge in the Three Jewels and offering their long twisted hair each received
the vows of a Buddhist monk. Until 1959, the braid of Harinanda was kept before
an image of Manjushri in the Utse Nying Sarma temple in the town of
Sakya.

The Guru of
Medicine (Sanskrit: Bhaishajyaguru) is also known by the name Vaidurya Prabha
Raja, the 'King of Sapphire Light.' Dark blue in colour, with one face and two
hands he holds in the right, in the gesture of generosity, a myrobalan fruit
(Latin: terminalia chebula. Skt.: haritaki). The left hand is placed in the lap
in the mudra (gesture) of meditation supporting a begging bowl with the open
palm. Adorned with the orange and yellow patchwork robes of a fully ordained
monk, the left arm covered, he appears in the nirmanakaya aspect of a fully
enlightened buddha. In vajra posture above a moon disc, he sits on a multi-coloured
lotus and ornate lion supported throne with a back rest upheld by two standing
horses and columns supporting a decorative headboard. To each side of Medicine
Buddha stand the two principal bodhisattva attendants. To the left is the
yellow bodhisattva Suryabhaskara and to the right is white Chandrabhaskara.

Directly
above the central figure is the buddha of long-life, Amitayus, pink, seated
with the hands in meditative equipoise. To the right is the buddha
Ashokattamshri, pink, with the two hands in meditative equipoise, flanked by
two standing bodhisattvas. To the right of that is Suvarnabhadra Vimala, white,
with the hands in the Dharma teaching gesture. Below that is Abhijnaraja, pink,
with the right hand in the gesture of generosity and the left in meditative
equipoise. Below that is the primordial buddha Vajradhara, blue, holding a
vajra and bell crossed at the heart.

To the left
of Amitayus is buddha Shakyamuni, seated, flanked by two standing bodhisattvas.
On the left side is Suparakirtita Namashri, yellow, with the right hand in the
gesture of giving protection and the left in meditative equipoise. Below that
is Nirghosharaja, with the right hand in the gesture of generosity and the left
in meditation. Below that is Suvarnabhadra Vimala, yellow, with the two hands
in the Dharma teaching gesture. Each buddha is flanked by two bodhisattvas.
Excluding Shakyamuni and Vajradhara, these six are referred to as the brothers
of Vaidurya Prabha - Medicine Buddha, and together they are known as the 'Seven
Buddhas of Medicine.'

Along each
side of the lion throne are the Four Direction Guardians, to the left are
Virudhaka and Dritarashtra and to the right Virupaksha and Vaishravana. Below
that are two rows of figures. The upper row contains the ten Gods of the
Directions each riding on a different animal mount. At the far right side are
two additional figures, yellow and white, mounted on chariots and the lower row
of figures comprise the 12 Yaksha Generals.

At the top
left corner is the buddha Shakyamuni followed from left to right by the guru
lineage descending down to the earliest Tibetan lineage holders. The form and
practice of Medicine Buddha is derived from the Bhaishajyaguru Sutra taught by
Lord Shakyamuni. In the Vajrayana Tradition this sutra is classified as a Kriya
Tantra. Common to all schools of Tibetan Buddhism Medicine Buddha is especially
important to the Tibetan medical tradition.

Bakula, the
Elder (Sanskrit: Sthavira Bakula): the 9th arhat from the set of 16 great
arhats, the principal students to the buddha Shakyamuni.

Mature in
years, slightly crazed with long eyebrows, and a full dark beard he holds with
both hands an unrolled scroll text in Chinese style across his lap. The head is
covered with a yellow scarf tied in front and he wears a dark blue jacket with
gold floral designs. The left shoulder is covered with an orange and green
patchwork robe. Seated in a relaxed posture atop a grassy knoll the head is
surrounded by a dark green areola framed with pink billowing clouds. In front
atop a footstool of gnarly brown roots are the shoes of the Elder.

At the right
side a monk attendant holds in the right hand and supported on the shoulder a
large fan ringed with peacock feathers. The left holds a mala of prayer beads.
Attired in brocade robes of rich blue, yellow and red colour, he converses with
a young laywoman holding a large bundle with both hands. At the left is a rough
table made naturally of roots and branches topped with two gold vessels. A
large golden bird with a craning neck looks toward the Elder. The background is
filled with sharp rising mountains of green and blue, clouds of various colour
and partially hidden mountain temples.

"To the
noble elder, the great Bakula of Northern Kuru, surrounded by a retinue of 900
arhats; to the feet of all those I bow." (Sakya liturgical text).

Living as an
ascetic, late in age he embraced the Buddhist path after meeting with the
Tathagata Shakyamuni. Receiving ordination as a monk and renowned for having a
deep faith he quickly attained the level of an arhat. The special blessing that
he bestows is the basic material needs and requisites for anyone seeking to
follow the path of Buddha. The Elder Bakula is most commonly portrayed holding
a mongoose, however there are several different and varying traditions
graphically depicting the arhats. A written inscription in gold lettering on
the lower front of the painting clearly identifies the subject as the Noble
Bakula. The Sixteen Great Arhats are generally painted as a set. Typically the
full group would include the buddha Shakyamuni, the 16 arhats, the attendant
Dharmatala, the patron Hvashang and the Four Guardians of the Directions:
Vaishravana, Virupaksha, Dritarashtra and Virudhaka.

Rolf’s Milarepa

Nepal – TibetAcquired in
Kathmandu in 1986

The original is supposedly at Lapchi Monastry

Date of the original perhaps 1600-1700

Our first thanka.Milarepa
(1052-1135) is the celebrated poet, teacher, and lineage holder of the Kagyu
School.. His teacher was Marpa and his most famous student Gampopa the
physician. To this day his songs are still sung by the people of Tibet.

Milarepa sitting on a gazelle skin was singing one of his famous
songs when an exhausted deer appeared on this lovely meadow.He inquired into the deer’s plight, and the
deer told him that it had been followed by a vicious hunter wanting to kill
it.Milarepa didn’t have to wait long
before the hunter appeared with his bow. Outraged that Milarepa was harboring
the deer he claimed as his prey he shot an arrow at the poet, which missed its
mark. He tried two more arrows which were easily deflected by the magician.
Red-faced the hunter rushed his dog, who on a word by Milarapa quietly lay down
next to the deer. The hunter was confused. This had never happened to him. He
said, “You must be a great yogi to evade my arrows.”Milarepa confirmed that and invited the hunter to become his
dharma student. -The story goes on for
a while. The hunter feeling honored accepted the invitation, but first he had
to go home and tell his wife. Milerapa sensing that the man would never return
to the austere life of a yogi, obliged him to swear off hunting, take off his
worldly clothes and made him sit at his feet right then and there.

In the background Milarepa is shown sitting in a cave receiving
his enlightenment. Birds and other animals are hidden in the trees and
bushes.A lovely teaching thanka.

Avalokiteshvara,
Chaturbhuja (Tibetan: chen re zi, chag shi pa. English: the All Seeing Lord
with 4 Hands). This painting is a rare composition depicting the teaching
lineage tradition of the Tsembupa Martri of the Sakya School of Tibetan
Buddhism. The Martri is a teaching focussed on the special Tantric methods of
practice associated with Avalokiteshvara, in whatever manifestation a
practitioner is comfortable with. The teaching is named after the first Tibetan
teacher, Tsembupa, that received it directly from Vajrayogini in a vision.

There are two
other paintings identified as belonging to the same set as this Avalokiteshvara.
Formerly of the Jucker collection and now in the Rubin Museum of Art collection
(RMA) is the painting of Sakya Tridzin Jambai Dorje. Again, from the former
Halpert collection and now in the RMA collection is the painting of Hevajra.
Each of these paintings have a gold background and similarity in brush stroke
and line. Their size is identical and the inscriptions on the back of the
Jambai Dorje and Hevajra paintings are identical. The back of the
Avalokiteshvara is yet to be revealed.

The central
figure is Avalokiteshvara with four hands. At his right is the male attendant
Manidharin and at the left, the female, Shadakshari. Both are similar to the
Lord in colour, ornaments and appearance. Sometimes they are referred to as the
son and daughter of Avalokiteshvara.

"As the
nature of all buddhas, Avalokiteshvara, in colour like stainless conch and
crystal, very resplendent, smiling, peaceful and radiant. With four hands the
first are folded at the heart, the lower hold a crystal mala and jewelled
lotus, two beautiful feet seated in vajra posture, adorned with many attractive
silks and jewels, beautified with dark blue hair in tufts [some] loose. On the
crown of the head, the wisdom of all buddhas, is the Lord, source of all refuge
gathered as one, in essence the Guru in the aspect of Amitabha, in the manner
of the Lord of the Family, seated happily." (Ngorchen Konchog Lhundrub
1497-1557).

Avalokiteshvara
is the patron bodhisattva of Tibet and is included in all Buddhist traditions.
There are numerous New (Sarma) lineages and varying forms of practice that span
all four tantric classifications as well as uncounted old oral traditions
(Kama) and Treasure (Terma) traditions from the Nyingmapa School.

There are
many different sacred Buddhist traditions that depict the various forms of
Avalokiteshvara. Most of these traditions only have an initiation ritual and at
best a very short daily ritual practice. Preserved in the Tibetan Buddhist
tradition there are seven principal traditions that contain extensive teachings
on the practice of Avalokiteshvara. The first of these is the [1] King's
Tradition (gyal lug) of Tri Songtsen Gampo, [2] Bhikshuni Shri Tradition
(gelongma palmo lug) of the Kashmiri nun, Gelongma Palmo [top right corner],
[3] Kyergangpa Tradition (gyergang lug) of the Shangpa Kagyu School, [4]
Tsembupa Tradition (tsembupa lug) of the Sakyas, [5] Dagyal Tradition (dagyal
lug) of the Nyingma Treasure (terma) tradition, [6] Maitri Yogin and [7] the
Karma Chagme Tradition (karma chagme lug) joining the philosophical systems of
mahamudra and dzogchen with compassion.

The Guru of
Medicine (Sanskrit: Bhaishajyaguru) is also known by the name Vaidurya Prabha
Raja, the 'King of Sapphire Light.' Dark blue in colour, with one face and two
hands he holds in the right, in the gesture of generosity, a myrobalan fruit
(Latin: terminalia chebula. Skt.: haritaki). The left hand is placed in the lap
in the mudra (gesture) of meditation supporting a begging bowl with the open
palm. Adorned with the orange and yellow patchwork robes of a fully ordained monk,
the left arm covered, he appears in the nirmanakaya aspect of a fully
enlightened buddha. In vajra posture above a moon disc, he sits on a
multi-coloured lotus and ornate lion supported throne with a back rest upheld
by two standing horses and columns supporting a decorative headboard. To each
side of Medicine Buddha stand the two principal bodhisattva attendants. To the
left is the yellow bodhisattva Suryabhaskara and to the right is white
Chandrabhaskara.

Directly above the central figure is the buddha
of long-life, Amitayus, pink, seated with the hands in meditative equipoise. To
the right is the buddha Ashokattamshri, pink, with the two hands in meditative
equipoise, flanked by two standing bodhisattvas. To the right of that is
Suvarnabhadra Vimala, white, with the hands in the Dharma teaching gesture.
Below that is Abhijnaraja, pink, with the right hand in the gesture of
generosity and the left in meditative equipoise. Below that is the primordial
buddha Vajradhara, blue, holding a vajra and bell crossed at the heart.

To the left
of Amitayus is buddha Shakyamuni, seated, flanked by two standing bodhisattvas.
On the left side is Suparakirtita Namashri, yellow, with the right hand in the
gesture of giving protection and the left in meditative equipoise. Below that
is Nirghosharaja, with the right hand in the gesture of generosity and the left
in meditation. Below that is Suvarnabhadra Vimala, yellow, with the two hands
in the Dharma teaching gesture. Each buddha is flanked by two bodhisattvas.
Excluding Shakyamuni and Vajradhara, these six are referred to as the brothers
of Vaidurya Prabha - Medicine Buddha, and together they are known as the 'Seven
Buddhas of Medicine.'

Along each
side of the lion throne are the Four Direction Guardians, to the left are
Virudhaka and Dritarashtra and to the right Virupaksha and Vaishravana. Below
that are two rows of figures. The upper row contains the ten Gods of the
Directions each riding on a different animal mount. At the far right side are
two additional figures, yellow and white, mounted on chariots and the lower row
of figures comprise the 12 Yaksha Generals.

At the top
left corner is the buddha Shakyamuni followed from left to right by the guru
lineage descending down to the earliest Tibetan lineage holders. The form and
practice of Medicine Buddha is derived from the Bhaishajyaguru Sutra taught by
Lord Shakyamuni. In the Vajrayana Tradition this sutra is classified as a Kriya
Tantra. Common to all schools of Tibetan Buddhism Medicine Buddha is especially
important to the Tibetan medical tradition.

Padmasambhava

Tibet, 1700
- 1799,Nyingma Lineage
Ground Mineral Pigment on Cotton

54.61x43.18cm (21.50x17in)Collection
of Rubin Museum of Art

Padmasambhava (Tibetan: pe ma jung ne, the main founder of
Buddhism in Tibet.

With piercing
eyes, gazing on all beings, one face, adorned with a moustache and goatee, the
right hand holds to the side above the knee a gold vajra. The left hand placed
in the lap supports a white skullcup filled with nectar and a long-life vase.
The ornate katvanga staff of a Vajrayana mendicant decorated with streamers
rests against the left shoulder. Adorned with earrings and a necklace, atop the
head is a lotus hat topped with a half-vajra and a single feather. Attired in
various robes reflecting the disciplines of the Vinaya, Bodhisattva and Mantra
Vehicles he sits on a sun and moon disc above a lotus blossom rising from the
waters of the Dhanakosha lake.

Standing at
the left is Avalokiteshvara with one face and four hands. Holding a wishing
jewel at the heart with the first pair of hands and a crystal mala in the
second right and a jewel flower in the left; both are held out to the sides.
Standing at the right side is Vajrayogini with one face and two hands. The
right hand holds upraised a damaru drum and the left a curved knife turned up
and pressed to the hip. She stands with both feet on the ground, the right foot
balanced on the heel.

At the top
center is the primordial buddha Samantabhadra, naked, with the hands in the
mudra of meditation and the legs in vajra posture; embraced by the consort
Samantabhadri. At the lower left is Longchen Rabjampa, a monk with the pandita
hat. The two hands perform the earth witness mudra while holding the stems of
two utpala flowers supporting a sword and book. At the upper left is Ngari
Panchen, a monk wearing the pandita hat. The two hands hold a vajra and bell
along with the stems of two utpala blossoms supporting a sword and book. At the
right is Jigme Lingpa with long hair and dressed as a layman. The right hand
performs the mudra of generosity and the left is pressed against the seat while
holding a single lotus stem with the flower cradling a sword and book. At the
upper right is the King Trisong Detsen, regally attired and seated in the
posture of royal ease. The two hands are crossed at the heart while holding a
vajra and bell along with the stems of two utpala blossoms supporting a wisdom
sword, book and Dharma Wheel.

At the bottom
center is the wrathful female protector Ekajati with one face, one eye and one
breast. In the right hand she holds a heart and a wild creature in the left;
standing surrounded by the flames of pristine awareness. To the right is the
avowed protector Dorje Lekpa (Sanskrit: Vajra Sadhu) with one face and two
hands holding an upraised vajra in the right and a heart and spear in the left.
Attired in long flowing garments and a wicker hat he rides a snow lion;
surrounded by flames. To the left is the horrific wrathful protector Rahula
with nine heads and four hands. The heads are stacked in rows of three and a
tenth face decorates the stomach. The first pair of hands hold a bow and arrow,
the second right holds a sword aloft and the left holds a victory banner topped
with a makara head. The lower body of Rahula is that of a coiled serpent
(naga); surrounded by flames.

Principal
among the many teachers to bring Buddhism to Tibet in the 8th century, Guru
Rinpoche has numerous forms representing outer, inner and secret aspects.
Within the Kama (Oral) Tradition of the Nyingmapa School, Padmasambhava was
born in Northern India as the son of a king or minister. In the Terma
(Treasure) Tradition he was born on a lotus in Dhanakosha lake as an emanation
of the Buddha Amitabha.

The style of
painting is 'tshal thang,' a red background with fine gold lines forming the
shapes of the subject deities. Only the eyes are filled with white and black
pigments.

Orange Tara,
Purifying All Poverty (Tibetan: drol ma mar ser): from the set of 21 Taras of
the lineage of Lord Atisha.

Yellow in
colour with one face and two hands, the right hand is in the mudra (gesture) of
supreme generosity holding a yellow vase extended across the knee. The left
hand is held to the heart with the thumb and forefinger holding the stem of a
red and blue utpala flower blossoming at the left ear. Peaceful, smiling and
youthful she is adorned with flowing silks of various colours and gold and
jewel ornaments, gold tiara and the like; seated with the right leg slightly
extended in a relaxed manner and the left drawn up. On a moon disc and
multi-coloured lotus seat encircled by a blue-red nimbus and an orange aureola
she sits surrounded by a lush green landscape. A white conch shell in a blue
bowl is placed in front as an auspicious offering.

At the top
left is the wrathful tutelary deity, Mahachakra Vajrapani, blue, with three
faces and six hands embracing the consort. At the right is a lama wearing
monastic robes and a yellow pandita hat, with a red meditation belt, seated on
a cushion and deer skin. At the bottom right is the wrathful protector Yama
Dharmaraja, dark blue, with the head of a buffalo, holding a bone stick and
lasso, riding on the back of a buffalo; surrounded by flames. At the left
corner are three monks and a lay-woman seated on a mat.

Tara is a
completely enlightened buddha who had previously promised to appear, after
enlightenment, in the form of a female bodhisattva and goddess for the benefit
of all beings. Her primary activity is to protect from the eight fears.
Practiced in all Schools of Tibetan Buddhism her various forms are found in all
classes of tantra - Nyingma and Sarma.

From the
tantra known as the “Twenty-One Praises of Tara” spoken by the buddha
Samantabhadra arises a system of practice with 21 Tara emanations - 1 for each
verse. Each form of Tara has a specific colour and accomplishes a specific
activity. Based on that, there are 3 well known and distinct lineages for the
set of 21 Taras; Pandita Suryagupta, Lord Atisha and the lineage from the
Nyingma Lama - Longchenpa. The 3 lineages do not share the same iconographic
forms. In the Atisha system all the Taras appear in the same basic posture and
only differ with the colour of the body. Aside from these 3 lineages there are
other less well known sets of 21 Taras.

A pair of feet and hands of a revered Lama.The Tibetans share this foot fetishism with
the Chinese and Japanese.An image of
the Lama is at center, five unreadable Buddhas surround him.

Naropa

Tibet

From a calendar leaf

17th-18th cent

Kagyu

Private collection Switzerland

Naropa was a Mahasidda, an Indian wise
man from the Swat who established the Kagyu School. He became the Lama-guru of
Milarepa starting a lineage of illustrious teachers.

Powerful in body and serious he holds a scull-cap in both hands.
His eyes are fixed on Vajrayogini his personal yidam, who appears in the left
upper corner. The two figures depict him on his way to enlightenment -in the lower left corner. The lake is
probably the Lake of Swayambunath (Kathmandu) where Buddha Avalokiteshvara was
born on a lotus.

Wrathful and
fierce, Pehar, white in colour, has three faces each with three glaring eyes.
The right face is red and the left blue. With six arms the three right hands
hold a sword, arrow and hammer. In the left are held a stick, bow and knife. He
wears a broad round red hat and rides a white (mythical) snow lion. Dressed in
a long flowing orange robe augmented with various coloured layers of garments
and Mongolian style felt boots he dwells within the flames of pristine
awareness.

"In
former times at Glorious Red Rock, Acarya Padmasambhava, inviting the profound
vast protector, Had bound by an oath as the entrusted steward of all Dharma
Centres; To Pehar I bow." (Nyingma liturgical verse).

Pehar is a
worldly protector of non-Tibetan origin who was oath-bound by Guru Rinpoche in
the 9th century and appointed primarily as a guardian of Samye Monastery in
Tibet. There are many fascinating accounts of his early history found in both
Nyingmapa and Gelugpa sources. According to some Tibetan Buddhist scholars
Pehar is the leader of all Worldly Buddhist protectors. According to others he
has already reached complete enlightenment and entered the ranks of the wisdom
deities. The worship of Pehar has penetrated all of Tibetan society however the
main upholders of the practice are predominantly the original Nyingmapas
followed by the Gelugpas from the time of the great 5th Dalai Lama (1617-1682)
when they became the spiritual and secular rulers of Tibet.

Youthful,
white in colour, with one face and two hands she holds extended across the knee
a gold swastika symbol in the right and in the left, to the heart a golden vase
filled with the nectar of compassion, and the stem of a white lotus blossom opening
above the left shoulder. Adorned with a gold Bodhisatva crown, earrings,
necklace and bracelets, the shoulders are covered with a dark green scarf
unfurling at the sides. The lower body is wrapped in an orange and red skirt
tied with a blue sash. With the right leg extended and the left drawn up atop a
moon disc and white lotus seat above a red and blue throne, she is surrounded
by a red aureola and blue-orange nimbus of radiant light.

At the four
corners are four attendant figures, emanations representing the five
activities, red, green, white and blue, each with one face and four hands,
holding a variety of objects. Seated on moon discs and lotus thrones they are
surrounded by circles of light.

At the bottom
center of the flat brown landscape, filling a large red bowl, heaps of precious
jewels, red coral, ivory tusks and gold ornaments, topped with blazing jewels
are offered to the goddess of Loving Wisdom.

Sherab Chamma
is the name of Satrig Ersang when she is not included in the group of the Four
Transcendent Ones - of which she is the first of the four. In her most wrathful
form she manifests as the horrific enlightened protector Sipai Gyalmo - the
principal protector of Bön. In her semi-wrathful form she manifests as the
deity Yeshe Walmo with two different forms, as a protector and as a healing
deity.

Sacred paintings of this type are personal yidams, used as
objects of devotion. She is part of a system of protectors from the eight fears
of Bön: enemies, magic, infertility, serpent spirits, wrong views, harm, death,
and the negative effects caused by the planets.

Youthful,
white in colour, with one face and two hands, she holds extended across the
knee a golden yungdrung emblem, a left-turning swastika. The yungdrung is the
principal symbol of Bön. Held at the heart is a golden vase filled with the
nectar of compassion and immortality. Wearing the typical dress and ornaments
of a youthful goddess, she sits atop a throne supported by eight tarkin, unique
antelope-like animals of the Tibetan Plateau. The art Bön is often populated
with strange and wonderful animals of the Himalayas and Central Asia.As a foundational deity of Bön, in her
paramount form she is understood to be the Mother of All Enlightened Ones and
is referred to by the name Satrig Ersang from Zhang Zhung, the
pre-Buddhist Bön language.

Simhamukha

This strange creature is supposed to
wake you from meditating on mandalas and buddhas. A female Simhamukha (Tibetan:
seng dong ma chen. English: the Lion-faced One). Fearsome with gaping jaws and
a lion face she glares to the side holding outstretched in the left hand a katvanga
staff, a magical lance.In a dancing
posture with the left leg down and the right drawn up she stands surrounded by
flames of pristine awareness. Ominous clouds drift across the sky.

Ratnasambhava,
Buddha (Tibetan: rin chen jung den, sang gye): a principal buddha within
Vajrayana Buddhism representing the qualities of enlightenment and residing in
the southern quarter of a mandala.

"In the
middle of a ground of lapis lazuli is a jewelled throne - bestowing numerous
attainments. On top is a thousand petalled lotus - unstained by worldly faults.
Wisdom and means appear as a sun and moon. Above this, as the essence of all
qualities is Ratnasambhava. With a radiant body having the colour of blazing
gold, one face, two hands, the right is in supreme generosity -- fulfilling the
wishes of beings. Performing meditative stabilization, the left is in the mudra
of meditation. Seated with the two feet in vajra posture - method and wisdom,
and having the thirty-two marks and eighty examples of excellence. For the
purpose of satisfying - well adorned with jewels and beautiful silk garments.
Adorning the body are a million light rays issuing and returning; having a
voice possessing sixty separate tones and a mind continuum of immeasurable
pristine awareness." (Bhikshu Konchog Ozer, 15th century).

The backrest
of the throne is decorated with two blue horses, two makaras and a Garuda
above. Alongside the throne stand two bodhisattvas and above each three more
seated at both sides. Adorned with jewels and silks, they hold various objects.
Along the front of the throne between the green and blue horses are 3 of the 4
female Door Guardians. In the middle for the southern direction is Vajrapashi
holding a lasso (with a small name inscription below). At the left, west, is
Vajrasphota holding a flower garland and at the right, east, Vajrakushi also
holding a flower garland. At the bottom center is a wrathful male figure with
one face and six hands, yellow in colour. At the two sides and above are three
wrathful attendants, yellow, each with one face and two hands standing in a
wrathful gesture with the right leg bent and the left straight.

At the bottom
left side is the Direction Guardian of the south, Yama, blue in colour, riding
a brown buffalo. Seated alongside is the Guardian King of the South, Virudhaka,
blue in colour, holding a long sword with the right hand and the scabbard in
the left, wearing a helmet and the garments of a warrior. At the bottom right
is the Direction Guardian of the southwest, Rakshasa, blue, riding on the back
of a zombie.

Surrounding
all of that are 132 Shakyamuni Buddha figures. Golden in colour, aligned in
rows, each with one face and two hands, they perform the earth touching mudra
with the right and the mudra of meditation with the left, wearing red robes and
seated in vajra posture surrounded by circles of light. The structure of an
alternating lion and horse supported throne extends along the length of the
bottom. There are several name inscriptions, most illegible, and a long
inscription running along the bottom.

Occupying a
central role in Vajrayana Buddhism, Ratnasambhava, is the Lord of the 4th of
the Five Buddha Families of the Tantra and found throughout all 4 tantra
classifications most notably in the anuttarayoga class.

Rolf’s White Tara

Nepal – Tibet

Acquired in
Kathmandu 1989

Painted by A Tibetan
Refugee Artist

Mineral pigment and
gold lines on cotton

Original unknown

Tara,also known as Jetsun
Dolma in Tibetan is the "mother of liberation", and represents the
virtues of success in work and achievements. Tara is a tantric deity, the
female aspect of Avalokitesvara, whose practice is used by the Vajrayana to
develop inner qualities and understand outer, inner and secret teachings about
compassion and emptiness.Tara is
actually the generic name for a set of Buddhas or bodhisattvas of similar
aspect. There are as many as 21 Taras for different purposes. The green and
white Taras, peaceful and elegant, are the most commonly depicted
emanations.

In 1989 we visited our thanka dealer
in Kathmandu in search of a female bodhisattva. After sorting through dozens of
fierce Vajrayoinis and garish green and red Taras he pulled out this
beautifully painted White Tara, who now hangs above my working desk.

Avalokiteshvara: white in colour and
peaceful in appearance, with one face and two hands, the dark hair is piled on
the crown of the head and some falls loose across the shoulders. Placed at the
heart in the mudra of Dharma teaching, the right holds the stem of a white
lotus flower blossoming over the shoulder. Adorned with a five-pointed crown of
gold and jewels, red ribbons are fastened at the ends, and large gold earrings
hang from the lobes. A choker, necklace, bracelets and anklets decorate the
body. Attired with a long green scarf and a blue and pink upper garment, he
wears a skirt of multiple layered colours tied with a yellow sash. Atop a moon
disc, multi-coloured lotus seat rising from a blue pond below, he stands
surrounded by a blue nimbus and dark green areola ringed with clouds of pink,
green, yellow and blue. "Unstained by faults, a body white of colour, with
the perfect Buddha as a crown, seeing beings with the eye of compassion, to
Avalokiteshvara, I bow." (Sakya liturgical verse).

Maitreya: the future buddha,
orange in colour, with the two hands placed in the Dharma teaching mudra at the
heart. The right hand holds the stem of a lotus flower blossoming at the side
supporting a gold water flask. Adorned with gold and jewels, scarves and
garments of silk, he stands above a lotus seat surrounded by radiant light and
colourful clouds.

"The
fire of great love burns the fuel of anger, the light of pristine awareness
removes the darkness of ignorance. To that Dharma Regent protecting beings and
dwelling in Tushita, I pay homage." (Sakya liturgical verse).

At the top
are three buddha figures resembling the buddha Amitabha, orange in
colour, each seated with the hands in the mudra of meditation in the lap
holding a black begging bowl. Ringed with spheres of light, they sit above
lotus blossom seats and billowing clouds.

With one face
and two hands, she holds aloft a vajra stick in the right hand and a skullcup
in the left held to the heart. Above the head is a peacock canopy. She rides a
mule; standing in the middle of an ocean of blood. At the lower right and left
are two attendants, both with the heads of mythical animals.

At the top
center is a wrathful deity in a sphere. Although effaced it is likely to be
either Vajrabhairava or Yamari. Gelugpa teachers sit at the sides. Nine
attendant deities surround the central deity.

This subject,
often commonly ascribed as Shri Devi (who has four hands), is in fact the main
attendant to Shri Devi and they are two different deities with different
histories and personalities. 'The Queen of the Weapon Army' is the wrathful
aspect of the very peaceful goddess Sarasvati (Yang Chenma).

She is always
a protector and is also used for divination rituals. Most Tibetan
Schools have some form of this deity. It is commonly found on Gelugpa and Sakya
paintings. This practice was adopted early on as the special protector for the
Dalai Lamas and the Namgyal College of the Tse Potala Palace.

The method of
painting is called 'nag thang,' gold outline on a black background.

There exist a few thankas depicting the Kings of Tibet. Trisong
Detsen (8th century): the Tibetan King who firmly established Buddhism in
Tibet, invited Padmasambhava from India and built the first monastery - Samye
Chokor Ling. He is surrounded by benevolent dragons and mountains. A small
altar at his feet displays the precious emblems of Buddhism.Below is a blue lake with heavenly wild
geese and a sacred island with items used for divination.

“Above a
lotus and sun and a gelded goat, or a white radiant lion, ... is the excellent
Dorje Legpa, maroon, one face, two hands, three eyes. The face is radiant with
bared fangs, exhaling a poisonous breath, with red hair and moustache flowing
upward. The right hand holds a vajra striking the heads of enemies and the left
a human heart. Wearing a cloak of red silk, dwelling in a fierce and wrathful
manner." (Terdag Lingpa Gyurme Dorje 1646-1714 and Minling Lochen
Dharmashri 1654-1718).

Wrathful,
maroon in colour, he has one face, two hands, three round eyes, a gaping mouth
and yellow hair flowing upward like a flame. The first hand extended to the
right holds a gold vajra and the left a human heart held up to the mouth.
Resting against the shoulder is a red flag hoisted on a long staff. Adorned
with gold earrings, necklaces and bracelets he wears a hat, round in shape and
red, crowned with a half vajra. Attired in long flowing garments and boots, his
body is well covered, seated atop a snow lion pressing down on a red corpse and
sun disc above a lotus seat. The snow lion head is turned upward to show
respect for the master; surrounded by thick black smoke and the flames of
pristine awareness. At the edge of the flames are numerous wild animals, birds
and beasts - messengers of Dorje Legpa.

At the top
center is Guru Padmasambhava wearing a lotus hat and long flowing robes. In the
right hand he holds a vajra and in the left a skullcup and katvanga staff. To
the left side is Haygriva, red, with one face topped by a green horse head, and
two hands holding a stick topped with a human skull (barely legible) in the
right and a lasso in the left; standing surrounded by flames. At the right is
Vajrapani, blue, holding a vajra in the right hand and performing a wrathful
gesture with the left; in similar appearance.

At the middle
left is Damchen Garwai Nagpo, the main attendant to Dorje Legpa, (blue in
colour) with one face and two hands holding in the upraised right a vajra
hammer and in the left a blacksmith's bellows made of tiger skin. He rides on
the back of a brown billy goat with the horns entwined. At the middle right is
a Dorje Yudronma, peaceful, red in colour, well attired in long robes holding
in the right hand a mirror held aloft. In the left hand is a long-life arrow
with streamers.

At the bottom
center is Damchen Nordrup Dorje Legpa, red, with three eyes, holding upraised
in the right hand a vajra hook and in the left a mongoose. The consort holds
aloft in the left hand a long-life arrow with a white ribbon and a gold mirror
with a red ribbon in the right. Both are richly attired in various peaceful
garments and jewel ornaments. At the left are five wrathful figures each with
one face and two hands, riding on mounts of bird, goat, donkey, horse and lion.
At the right are six figures riding similar wild mounts with one red female in
a standing posture at the lower right.

"At the
blazing iron fortress of Uyug Shang, powerful son from the union with a Mu
daemon, great in magical emanations, performing attentively the commands of
bhagavan Vajrapani; homage to the herald of liberation, Dorje Legpa."
(Nyingma liturgical verse).

Indigenous to
Tibet, the daemon Dorje Legpa was subjugated in the 8th century by Guru
Padmasambhava and oath bound as a Dharma protector. His primary function is to
safeguard the Revealed Treasure texts (Terma) of the Nyingma Tradition
of Tibetan Buddhism.

"...the
Glorious Goddess, Mistress of the Desire Realm, riding a donkey with a white
patch; with a body blue-black in colour, one face and four hands; the first
right holds a sword, second a skullcup filled with blood; the first left holds
a spear, the second a trident; with a crown of five dry human skulls and a
necklace of fifty wet and six bone ornaments; an elephant hide as an upper
garment and a rakshasa hide as a skirt, a lower garment of woven hair; the Lord
of Nagas tied as a girdle; possessing three eyes, a stiff human corpse in the
mouth, bared fangs. The right ear is adorned with a poisonous snake and the
left a lion. On the body arranged in bunches are drops of blood, clots of mold,
and ashes of the dead; very emaciated..." (Ngorchen Konchog Lhundrup,
1497-1557).

The seated
figure at the upper right is Manlung Guru of the 13th century. He was a
contemporary of Butön Tamche Khyenpa and associated with the Kalachakra Tantra.

"Arising
from the mandala of suffocating black wind at a kalpa's end,
Mistress of a host of activities and pristine awareness,
Leader of the Mamos, Great Queen of the World;
Homage to the Lord of Mantra, Ekajati!" (Nyingma liturgical verse).

Single Braid
is a Buddhist deity of Indian origins often found in the company of Tara as an
attendant figure. She is named for her one braid of hair atop the head, but
this characteristic is often lost when she appears in a horrific form. In some
Buddhist traditions she is considered the mother of the Glorious Goddess (Shri
Devi, Mahakali) and the Great Black One (Mahakala). The Ancient Tradition of
Tibet adopted Single Braid as a principal protector and modified the appearance
to also mean a single eye and a single breast. Later in the 18th century, the
Heart Essence of the Great Expanse tradition of practice further reduced her to
one leg, thus making for a truly interesting appearance.

Black
background paintings such as this are often used for the most wrathful and
horrific images believing that it enhances those characteristics. It was
thought that the black ground was first created using the funeral ashes of
great teachers. The three seated figures in the upper portion of the painting
all pre-date the 13th century.

Kurukulla

Kurukulla
(Tibetan: rig che ma. English: The One of the Action Family): Goddess of Power.

Powerful, red
in colour with one face, hair flowing upward, three eyes and four hands,
slightly fierce in expression, she holds a bow and arrow in the first pair of
hands and a hook and lasso in the lower pair. All the hand objects are
constructed of red utpala flowers and used as implements for the subjugation
and accomplishment of all goals. Adorned with jewel ornaments, a tiara,
earrings, necklaces, bracelets and silk scarves, she wears a lower skirt of
tiger skin. Standing atop a corpse, sun disc and lotus blossom she dances
amidst the circular flames of the fire of pristine awareness.

At the top
center is the Buddha of the Western direction Amitabha. At the top left is
mahasiddha Virupa performing the gesture (mudra) of Dharma Teaching with the
two hands at the heart; seated in a relaxed posture. At the top right is a
teacher of the Sakya tradition of Tibetan Buddhism with the hands folded in
meditation and wearing a scholar's (pandita) hat with the lappets folded across
the crown. At the bottom left is Green Tara, with one face and two hands,
seated in a relaxed posture. At the right is another Sakya teacher holding a
vase in the extended right hand and the stem of a lotus in the left held to the
heart with the blossom supporting an ignorance cleaving sword and the
Prajnaparamita wisdom book. At the bottom center is the wrathful protector
'Queen of the Weapon Army' (mag zor gyal mo), with one face and two hands
holding a stick and skullcup; riding a mule.

In the Sakya
Tradition there are numerous forms of Kurukulle from the four different tantra
classifications and all of those can be arranged in five levels of profundity.
This particular subject belongs to the fourth or fifth of the higher
classifications - those associated with the Hevajra and Vajrapanjara Tantras.

This type of
painting is called tsal tang - gold outline on a red background,
generally used for power and long-life deities, and bodhisattva figures. A
similar type of painting is a ser tang where the background is entirely
of gold with the drawing often done in a red outline.

Collection of Shelley & Donald
Rubin
The lion is all subdued. He happily chews on a piece of yellow cloth, watched
by a layman from behind a tree. Even the attendant, who should know the powers
of his Master, takes refuge behind the saint’s coat.

The orange
sunset and the expressionist colors in the mountains indicate to me that this
Arhat thanka is by the same Khyenri painter as some of the others. The text
does not say that, I added the line.

An old man, a
little dense, with black hair tufted on the top of the head, long dark eyebrows
and a growth of facial hair, he plods along in his job. The right hand holds a
flywhisk with a red handle and a tuft of yak tail hair attached at the end. The
left hand holds a dark blue water flask. Adorned with gold earrings, he wears a
long cloak brown in colour with a floral pattern, blue and white pants and
black sandals. Across the back he carries a red travelling case filled with
religious books, bowls and provisions - topped with a circular yellow canopy
fringed with red and blue. Stooped over from the load, he walks with the
companionship of an orange striped tiger at the side. Emanating as a fierce
protector of the 16 Arhats, the tiger arises from the right knee of Dhamatala.

In the sky
above, drifting on a bank of variously coloured cloud is the buddha Amitabha,
red, with the two hands placed in the mudra of meditation, seated atop a dark
blue lotus blossom encircled by rays of light. A large pine tree, rocky blue
peaks and green-red clouds fill the background. The foreground is a green
landscape with a stream meandering through a meadow adorned with attractive
birds.

"To the
noble upasaka Dharmata, with the hair in a topknot and a load of books,
thinking only of Amitabha in the sky; homage to the One holding a flywhisk and
vase." (Sakya liturgical verse).

Dharmatala
belongs to a thematic set of paintings known as 'Shakyamuni Buddha and the 16
Great Arhats.' The full group comprises 25 figures: the buddha Shakyamuni,
together with the two foremost disciples - Shariputra and Maudgalyayana, the 16
Arhats, the attendant Dharmata, the patron Hvashang and the Four Guardians of
the Directions; Vaishravana, Virupaksha, Dritarashtra and Virudhaka. As a late
addition, Dharmatala was attached to the group of Arhats during the time of the
Chinese Tang Emperors (9th - 10th century).

Arhat:
wearing the robes of a fully ordained monk and a white cloth over the head, he
sits in meditation posture with the hands folded in the lap.

At the right
side is the mahasiddha Vinapa, in the typical dress of an Indian, holding a
vina - stringed instrument, in the lap. At the right is a dark-skinned
mahasiddha wearing bone ornaments and a tiger skin skirt. At the top left is
the buddha Shuradatta and on the right Brahma. Both Buddhas are from the set of
35 confessional Buddhas.

Bakula and
Rahula, the Elders (Tibetan: ne ten, ba ku la tang dra chen dzin. Sanskrit: Sthavira
Bakula and Rahula): the 9th and 10th arhats from the set of 16 great arhats.

At the middle
right is Arhat Bakula, gentle in appearance with a smiling face, fair
complexion and grey receding hair. Wearing loose fitting ornate red robes, he
holds in the two hands a brown mongoose - expelling jewels from the mouth. In
front an ornately clad attendant holds aloft a golden bowl to collect the
precious jewels of various colour. At the right are two monk attendants. The
first holds a peacock fan and strokes the head of a seated tiger and the second
holds a full bowl of precious jewels. Seated on an orange mat, Bakula is framed
with a backrest of dark blue brocade and a pink areola.

"On the
Northern [continent] of Kuru is the noble elder Bakula, surrounded by 900
arhats; homage to the One holding a mongoose with the two hands." (Sakya
liturgical text).

At the lower
left is arhat Rahula, the son of Shakyamuni buddha. With the head slightly
tilted and gazing forward, his dark close cropped hair is crowned with a small
topknot. The two hands are placed in front holding respectfully, with a white
scarf, a tiara of gold and jewels - a gift from the gods of the Heaven of the
Thirty-three. Richly attired in garments of red and green, he wears brocade
shoes, seated in a relaxed manner against a decorative blue and red backrest,
with a green aureola. Behind at the left, an attendant holds upraised a
parasol. In front a regal figure stands with the hands folded. At the right
side a monk in red and orange robes kneels beside a bowl of precious jewels.

"On the
Island of Priyangku is the noble elder Rahula, surrounded by 1,100 arhats;
homage to the One holding a jewelled tiara." (Sakya liturgical text).

At the top
center is a buddha, golden in colour, the hands held upraised with the palms
facing out. Surrounded by six bodhisattvas of various colour he is seated
before a celestial palace in a pleasure garden encircled by a walled enclosure.
At the left is Dromton Gyalwai Jungne (1005-1064) the principal disciple of Lord
Atisha - founder of the Kadampa School. Crowned with long dark hair, the hands
are folded in prayer holding a white lotus blossom; wearing the garb of a
layman. At the right is a lay lama of the Kadampa tradition, advanced in age,
wearing the garments of a layman. He holds a vajra in the right hand and a bell
turned up at the hip in the left. The background is filled with green hills,
waterfalls and lush green foliage against a dark blue sky. A solitary hermit
monk meditates in a mountain cave.

The Sixteen
Great Arhats are generally painted as a set. The full group would include the
buddha Shakyamuni, the 16 arhats, the attendant Dharmatala, the patron Hvashang
and the Four Guardians of the Directions: Vaishravana, Virupaksha, Dritarashtra
and Virudhaka. (The names of the figures are inscribed in gold lettering
beneath each).

Dralha, a Worldly Protector

Dralha: with
one face and two hands he holds a riding crop in the upraised right and a bowl
of jewels with the left. Dressed in the garb of a warrior with a spear, he
rides atop a white horse.

Rolf’s Heruka Yidam

Painted to my order in Nepal in 1991

by a Tibetan Refugee Lama

Nyingma and Kagyu tradition

Date and location of the original unknown

17th cent(?)

Mineral pigments on cotton

In this tantric thanka the central Heruka is benevolent, holds a
Vajra in one and a benign Vajravarahi consort in his other hand, one reason why
I chose to have this thanka repainted in Kathmandu (from a leaf in a calender).
A Tibetan craftsman in Los Angeles surrounded it with a cloth frame worthy of a
gompa!A magnificently detailed copy of
the original- which is probably in a
private collection in Switzerland.

The central figure is surrounded by four representations of
Demchog, Heruka’s fierce emantion. Each is embracing a fierce form of
Vajravarahi who holds a blood-filled scullcap and a catvanga. Four dancing dakinis complete this canonical
entourage.Above in the center the
always blue Adhibuddha (Samantabhadra the “All-Good”) holds his white, stark
naked consort Samantabhadri in an embrace. In the right upper corner appears
Mount Kailas and Lake Mansarovar.

Orange Tara

Orange Tara,
Purifying All Poverty (Tibetan: drol ma mar ser): number 11 from the set of 21
Taras of the lineage of Lord Atisha.

Yellow in
colour with one face and two hands, the right hand is in the mudra (gesture) of
supreme generosity holding a yellow vase extended across the knee. The left
hand is held to the heart with the thumb and forefinger holding the stem of a
red and blue utpala flower blossoming at the left ear. Peaceful, smiling and
youthful she is adorned with flowing silks of various colours and gold and
jewel ornaments, gold tiara and the like; seated with the right leg slightly
extended in a relaxed manner and the left drawn up. On a moon disc and
multi-coloured lotus seat encircled by a blue-red nimbus and an orange aureola
she sits surrounded by a lush green landscape. A white conch shell in a blue
bowl is placed in front as an auspicious offering.

At the top
left is the wrathful tutelary deity, Mahachakra Vajrapani, blue, with three
faces and six hands embracing the consort. At the right is a lama wearing
monastic robes and a yellow pandita hat, with a red meditation belt, seated on
a cushion and deer skin. At the bottom right is the wrathful protector Yama
Dharmaraja, dark blue, with the head of a buffalo, holding a bone stick and
lasso, riding on the back of a buffalo; surrounded by flames. At the left
corner are three monks and a lay-woman seated on a mat.

Tara is a
completely enlightened buddha who had previously promised to appear, after
enlightenment, in the form of a female bodhisattva and goddess for the benefit
of all beings. Her primary activity is to protect from the eight fears.
Practiced in all Schools of Tibetan Buddhism her various forms are found in all
classes of tantra - Nyingma and Sarma.

From the
tantra known as the “Twenty-One Praises of Tara” spoken by the buddha
Samantabhadra arises a system of practice with 21 Tara emanations - 1 for each
verse. Each form of Tara has a specific colour and accomplishes a specific
activity. Based on that, there are 3 well known and distinct lineages for the
set of 21 Taras; Pandita Suryagupta, Lord Atisha and the lineage from the
Nyingma Lama - Longchenpa. The 3 lineages do not share the same iconographic
forms. In the Atisha system all the Taras appear in the same basic posture and
only differ with the colour of the body. Aside from these 3 lineages there are
other less well known sets of 21 Taras.

Peaceful in
appearance, yellow in colour, with three faces and eight hands. Seated atop a
large mother sow, the left leg extended rests on the back of several sleeping
piglets. The red orb of the morning sun encircles behind crowned with the upper
spire of a stupa.

"She who
holds the night, and by merely remembering quickly protects from all fears and
bestows the stainless great bliss. To the goddess Marichi I bow." (Sakya
liturgical verse).

White in
colour with on face, he has three glaring eyes, a gaping mouth with bared
fangs, orange hair flaming upward and six hands. In the three right hands are a
curved knife, wish-fulfilling jewel and a damaru (drum). In the left hands are
a skullcup containing a vase filled with various jewels, a trident and a vajra
hook. Adorned with a crown of jewels and gold, precious ornaments and green
silk he stands with the two legs straight atop two elephant-headed figures,
spewing jewels, above a sun disc and lotus seat surrounded by the red and gold
flames of pristine awareness. Encircled by the 'Five Power-Gathering Dakinis'
of various colours, they hold in the right hands a hook and a wishing-jewel in
the left.

Seated
directly above is the Buddha Vajradhara, blue in colour, with one face and two
hands. In this form he holds to the heart a jewel in the right and a mongoose
in the lap with the left. Seated at the top right the mahasiddha Shavaripa, the
first human lineage holder for the system of Shadbhuja Mahakala. Below is a
lama wearing robes a red pandita hat. On the left side is another pandita
holding a book and seated below is a Gelugpa Lama - possibly the second Dalai
Lama, Gyalwa Gendun Gyatso, who popularized the practices of the Shangpa School
within the later Gelugpa School.

At the bottom
left is the main form of the wrathful protector, Shadbhuja Mahakala, black,
with one face and six hands. Wrathful offerings are arranged in front. At the
right is the protector goddess Magzor Gyalmo, black, with one face and two
hands, riding a mule. She is the wrathful emanation of the goddess Sarasvati
and the special protector to the Dalai Lamas.

The painting
is rich with detail and colour executed on a black background almost lost in
the opulence, splendour and array of colours.

White
Mahakala, a wealth deity of the Kriya class of Tantra, satisfies the economic
needs of Tantric Buddhists. This is a Gelugpa example of a deity that has
become popular within all schools of Tibetan Buddhism. It should be noted
however that the Shangpa Kagyu School, founded by Khedrup Khyungpo Naljor (11th
century), is unrelated to the more famous School of the same name founded by
Marpa and his principal student Milarepa.

With one face
and two hands, emerald green in colour, she performs the mudra (gesture) of
generosity with the right hand extended over the knee holding the stem of a
lotus flower blossoming by the right ear. With the left hand held to the heart
in a mudra of blessing she holds the stem of a lotus - blossoming to the left
side. Adorned with gold and jewels in the form of a tiara with five gems,
earrings, necklaces, bracelets and the like, she wears various silks in a
variety of colours, orange, yellow, violet and red. With the right leg
extended, resting on a small moon and lotus cushion, and the left drawn up, she
sits in a relaxed posture on a moon disc and white lotus seat; surrounded by an
orange nimbus and red areola. In front, on an earthen landscape, from a lotus
pond, stands a heap of coloured wishing jewels, the uppermost blazing with
orange flame. Auspicious white clouds fill the sky above.

The popular
practice of Tara is found in all the various traditions of Tibetan Buddhism and
the multitudes of forms, white, yellow, red, and the different sets of 21, can
be found in all classifications of Tantra - Nyingma and Sarma.

Magzor Gyalmo
(English: Queen of the Weapon Army): the wrathful emanation of the goddess
Sarasvati.

Fierce in
appearance, with one face and two hands, she holds aloft a stick in the right
hand and a skullcup to the heart in the left. She rides a donkey; standing in
the middle of an ocean of blood. At the bottom are two attendants. To the left
is the 'Makara Faced One,' (a mythical sea creature) blue in colour with one
face and two hands; holding a lasso and always placed to the front of the
central figure holding the reins of the donkey. To the right is the 'Lion Faced
One,' dark red, holding a curved knife and skullcup. This attendant follows
behind the mount. Both are adorned with human skins and bone ornaments.

This subject,
often commonly ascribed as Shri Devi (who has four hands), is the main
attendant to Shri Devi and they are two different deities with different
histories and personalities.

She is always
a protector and is also used for divination rituals. Most Tibetan Schools have
some form of this deity. It is commonly found on Sakya and Gelugpa paintings.
This practice was adopted early on as the special protector for the Dalai Lamas
and the Namgyal College of the Tse Potala Palace.

The Glorious
Goddess, undeniably related to the Hindu mother goddess Kali, the wife of Shiva
in a wrathful form, is understood as a class of female protector deities that
includes many forms and many different variations on the early origin myth.
Some claim that there are twenty-one in number attested to in popular prayer;
others say that some of these forms are indigenous to the Himalayas and Tibet.
Relying on ancient Tibetan texts, possibly of Indian origin, the Glorious
Goddess has a list of one hundred names. Portrayed with four arms, she is
considered the principal and original form of the goddess.

The “Queen
who Repels Armies,” appearing with just two arms, is another form within this
class. Based on her specific origin myth she is said to be the fearsome
manifestation of the Hindu goddess Sarasvati, popular in Hinduism and Buddhism.

Simhamukha

Simhamukha (Tibetan:
seng dong ma chen. English: the Lion-faced One). Fearsome with gaping jaws and
a lion face she glares to the side holding outstretched in the right hand a
curved knife. The left holds a skullcup raised to the mouth. A katvanga staff
is supported in the bend of the elbow. In a dancing posture with the left leg
down and the right drawn up she stands surrounded by flames of pristine
awareness. At the four corners are four retinue figures similar in appearance.
At the top center is the buddha Shakyamuni. At the bottom center is a wealth
deity embracing a consort, riding a snow lion.

Sipai Gyalmo - Riding a Red Mule (dreu marmo)

China1800 -
1899
Ground: Textile Image(Silk Embroidery)Bön
Image

Collection of Rubin Museum of Art

Sipai Gyalmo
(English: Queen of the World).

In the Bön
tradition the Queen of the World is the most wrathful manifestation of the
peaceful deity Loving Mother of Wisdom (T. Sherab Chamma). Fierce in
appearance, black in color, she has three faces and six arms holding weapons
and implements of power and control. The three right hands hold a victory banner,
flaming sword and a peg. The left hands hold a trident, svastika wand, and a
skullcup filled with blood. Each of these symbolically represents cutting the
knots of illusion and rooting out the three poisons of greed, anger and
delusion. Riding on a red mule, she sits atop a flayed human skin symbolizing
impermanence while the brightly burning flames of wisdom fire surround her.

The Queen of
the World is both a meditational deity and a protector. She is one of the most
frequently propitiated figures in Bön, and extends her protection to both
religious practitioners and common people. Though horrific and wrathful in form
she embodies the qualities of wisdom and compassion. Embroidered works of art
such as these were commonly commissioned by Tibetans although made in China.

Angaja the Elder (Tibetan: ne ten, yan lag
chung, Sanskrit: Sthavira Angaja): the 1st arhat from the set of 16 great
arhats.

With an elderly
appearance, advanced in age, his hair is white with long eyebrows hanging to
the sides. In the right hand a fly whisk with a long handle is extended above
the right shoulder. The left holds out to the side a golden incense bowl. In
the stream of grey steam twisting upward a heavenly palace is revealed amongst
the perfumed clouds. Wearing green patchwork strips and red monastic robes, an
areola, ethereal, maroon in colour, surrounds the head. Seated atop an ornate
throne - decorated with brocades, wishing jewels and a backrest, amidst wafting
clouds, he sits before the snow peaked mount Kailash with lake Manasarowar on
the right. At the side of the throne a monk points upward at the celestial
apparition.

At the top
right is the buddha of long-life, Amitayus, red, holding a nectar filled vase
in the lap with both hands; adorned with jewels and silks. At the left seated
on a cushion is Marpa Chokyi Lodro (1012-1097), founder of the Kagyu School. In
the guise of a layman with a moustache and goatee, he rests the two hands
across the knees in the earth witness mudra (gesture). Before the throne, at
the lower right is a lay attendant accompanied by a white elephant, with the
trunk and right leg respectfully raised, carrying a load of precious jewels. At
the bottom right is Lord Gampopa (1079-1153) wearing monastic robes and a red
cap. The right hand is in the mudra of earth witness and the left supports a
begging bowl in the lap. A herd of deer rest at the left side.

"On the
great snow mountain of Kailash is the noble elder Angaja, surrounded by 1,300
arhats; homage to the One holding an incense bowl and a fly whisk." (Sakya
liturgical verse).

Red in colour
with one face, three eyes and two hands the left holds aloft a white skullcup
from which she drinks and on the shoulder rests a very detailed vajra tipped
katvanga staff. The right hand is extended downward holding a curved knife with
a gold vajra handle. Adorned with a tiara of skulls, various bone ornaments,
girdle, bracelets and a necklace of freshly severed heads - each with a
different expression she stands atop the bodies of pink Kalaratri and black
Bhairava. Above an ornate sun disc and pink lotus seat she stands completely
surrounded by the multi-coloured flames of pristine awareness.

At the top
center is the primordial buddha Vajradhara, blue in colour, with the two hands
crossed at the heart holding a vajra and bell, in a seated posture. At the left
is the Indian mahasiddha Tilopa, holding a skullcup in the right hand and a
fish upraised in the left. At the right side is a seated Tibetan yogi wearing a
white cotton upper robe and a yellow meditation belt. Holding a skullcup in the
left hand he is seated on a deer skin.

At the bottom
left is the wrathful deity Humkara, blue, with one face and two hands holding a
curved knife and skullcup, standing atop a corpse. Very fierce, he is adorned
with all the wrathful vestments, an elephant skin upper garment and a tiger
skin below. On the right is Yu Dronma (Turquoise Lamp), a female deity of
Tibetan origin and one of the 'Tanma Chunyi,' with one face, three eyes and two
hands holding what appears to be a large drum (usually a mirror) in the right
hand and a stick in the left. Richly attired in variously coloured garments she
sits on a moon disc above a lotus. The names of these last two figures are
printed with fine gold lettering below each lotus seat.

Vajrayogini
belongs to the 'wisdom class' of Anuttarayoga Tantra and arises specifically
from the Chakrasamvara cycle of Tantras. When Vajrayogini is portrayed in this
appearance with the left hand raised and the two feet firmly planted she is
commonly referred to as the Naro Khachodma however this does not always mean
she is from the special Naropa lineage of the Sakyapa tradition. This painting
appears to be Kagyu in origin based on the grouping of figures and Eastern
Tibetan style of painting.

Sacred paintings of this type are personal and used as objects of
devotion, the centerpiece of a shrine. In this case the painting was
commissioned by a well-known practitioner of yoga, the yogini Dechen Wangmo,
who lived in the late 18th /19th century in Central Tibet. The Red Yogini was
her personal choice as a model for meditation practice. As part of the
commitments within this system of Tantric religious practice in general, a
follower must have a representation, a model, be it a painting or sculpture, of
the deity that one is personally committed to.

This painting
in particular is special because Dechen Wangmo had the religious object
consecrated by her teacher, Kunzig Chonang (1768-1822), the 8th Great Lama of
the Drugpa Tradition, a famous religious leader.

Chakrasamvara,
Sahaja Heruka, with the footprints of Drigung Tangpa Chenpo on the right and
left sides.

Tibetan: Khor
lo dem chog

In the center
of the composition is Chakrasamvara Sahaja Heruka, with one face and two hands,
embracing the consort Vajravarahi, red in colour.

Descending
vertically in the two outer registers are the Eight Great Siddhas. Beginning on
the left are King Indrabhuti, with Virupa on one side and Lakshminkara on the
other. Below that is Dombi Heruka riding atop a tiger with his consort. Below
that is Saraha in a standing posture and holding a bow across the shoulders,
accompanied by two consorts. Below that is Kukkuripa, holding a dog. Descending
on the right are Nagarjuna seated on the right side of Shakyamuni Buddha with
Atisha seated on the other side of the Buddha. All three are dressed in the
robes of a monk. Below Nagarjuna is Luipa with both hands raised up and dressed
in the attire of a mahasiddha. Below that is Padmavajra embracing a consort.
Below that is Vajra Ghantapa, holding a vajra scepter and a bell.

In the top
register, starting at the left corner, are Vajrasattva, Akshobhya Buddha,
Vajradhara, Tilopa, Naropa, Pagmodrupa, Gampopa, Milarepa, Marpa, Shakyamuni
Buddha, and Medicine Buddha.

In the second
register, starting at the left, are Samaya Vajra, Gauri, Buddha Lochana, Mamaki
and Samantabhadri. In the center of the row is Rinchen Drigungpa, the founder
of the Drigung Kagyu School of Tibetan Buddhism. Following in the row are
Mohavajra, Dveshavajra, Matsaryavajra, Ragavajra, and Irshyavajra. Each of the
ten female deities have three faces and six hands, and hold various attributes.

In the bottom
register starting at the left are Chaturbhuja Mahakala, seated, with four
hands, Yellow Jambhala, Amrita Kundali, Hayagriva holding a stick, Vajrapani
holding a vajra scepter, Achala holding a sword, Ganapati with an elephant head
and four hands, and Shri Devi with one face and four hands, riding a donkey.

Taglung Tangpa Chenpo (1142-1210): founder of Taglung Monastery
(1180), central Tibet - north of Lhasa, the head monastery for the Taglungpa
sub-lineage of the Kagyu School.

The central
figure is surrounded by buddhas, lineage teachers and deities. Along the bottom
from left to right – ahrd to see in this old thanka - are blue-black Humkara,
red Vajravarahi, four-armed Chaturbhuja Mahakala, white Aparajita, Four-armed
sow-faced red Vajravarahi and red Kurukulle.

The forms of
the Buddha and Arhats are represented by pink lotus flowers; the Buddha in the
middle encircled by the 16 Arhats. At the four sides are four doors, 'T' shaped
structures, each with a lotus seat for the Four Guardian Kings of the
Directions. At the lower front is a single lotus seat for the attendant to the
Arhats - Dharmatala.

The
meditation practice of Shakyamuni with the 16 Arhats was popularized by Jowo
Atisha and later by the Kashmiri pandit Shakyashri Bhadra